My time at Tirisula Yoga: Areerat

Taking on a 200 hour course I expected to learn a lot – and I did. Not just in lessons but in gaining experience and confidence to be able to teach others. This is an important thing for me as I never had this experience to do. It was challenging and made me think a [...]

Lesson Plan: Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)

1. Start with ujjayi breating (10 minutes) this is the “ocean breath” which uses the glottis to make a noise in your throat. This contols and strengthens the diaphragm. 2. Warm up with surya namaskara A (2 rounds) 3. Majriasana (table pose, inhale. Exhale press palms down bringing your navel to your spine in cat [...]

The Cobra Pose

  The Cobra Pose (Sanskrit: Bhujangasana) 1. Lie down on your front (crocodile pose) with legs pointing back and the tops of the feet flat to the floor. Place arms back and parallel with the body. 2. Place hands palm down on the floor level with your shoulders. 3. Slowly push down with your arms and [...]

The Seven Chakras

The Seven Chakras Chakras are centres of energy that are distributed throughout the body, each on represented as a spinning ball or wheel which draws in energy from outside. Chakra is indeed a Sanskrit word meaning wheel. The seven main chakras are: Muladhara (base or root chakra represented by the ovaries/prostate) Swadhisthana (sacral chakra represented [...]

Anatomy of an Asana: Ushtrasana (Camel pose)

The asana named Ushtrasana means camel and the pose gets its name from the overall shape that the body makes, arching backwards whilst kneeling and holding the ankles. As with any of the astanas each one uses different parts of the body and both excercises them as well as having therapeutic properties. In the case [...]

Yoga Citta Vritti Nirodhah: reaching an inner peace

Yoga citta vritti nirodhah means to reach an inner peace in the mind and to stabilize thoughts and disturbing emotions. Given that yoga is a combination of physical movements which at the same time combine controlled breathing, practicing yoga citta vritti nirodhah allows a syncronized flow to occur during the movements. It provides a more meditative approach to yoga [...]

The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga: Yamas or Restraints (Number 3)

The first limb of Raja yoga is a set of Yamas or restraints. These can be seen as a form of guidance to the student to help them live a more focused and fruitful life. The third Yama is called Asteya, which is a guide to restrain from acts of theft or covetedness and refrain from jealousy. [...]

First Impressions

Dear Friends, Having now completed the first three days of the course I can share some of my thoughts with you. Well, firstly, I have a few aches in muscles I didn’t even know I had – I will need to read up on my anatomy and physiology more for that. Otherwise this is great [...]